Rise up Altair,Rise!!!
And with all the hype that roamed around AC it's no surprise it scored so high among...consoles,not necessarily on the pc.
What's most remarkable about this game is how hard it is trying to throw out a plausible reason to hide the "generic" elements.
Let me make the things clear,let's take an example:Your health isn't actually health is "synchronization" shown in a synchronization bar.And it refills if you rest a little but the game is trying to make you believe that you're actually aligning with your ancestors.
And there are lots of these stuff,they tried,and mostly succeeded to give us reasons to believe this game is quite realistic.It suffers from bugs,controls and camera issues but all in all AC is a great game.
Now let's start with the plot.So you are Desmond a normal person whose ancestor was an assassin.You wake up in a kind of high-tech facility where a doctor asks you(giving no reason or explanations) to enter a so-called machine called "the animus" which will allow Desmond to re-live the life of his assassin ancestor.It's a bit generic prolouge but after you get to climb up high buildings and do "leaps of faith" you'll be hooked up by this game.Because the plot is evolving as long as you progress in the game,plus that the side-events bring even more clues to the storyline.
I still wonder if Altair tries to align with his ancestor or with the Prince of Persia franchise.Let me explain:I like to call this game PoP ancestor,because it's basically open-ended PoP with sharper animations and graphics.
This time you won't be wallrunning or jumping from wall to wall,but exploring the rich playground here is a thrill,and i mean it;thrills called "leap of faith",and i think this move made AC so popular.So here's how it's going:You need to climb on a really high building with a wooden bar(most likely short),but you need a stack of hay or a cart of hay below you so it will reduce the shock you'll take.But you shouldn't worry,because you'll always land safe which makes the word "faith" useless.In fact the whole act is a missed opportunity,tough it's nevertheless a lot of fun.
Also a great idea in this game is the "hidden blade" greatly designed.This blade leads to superb assassinations animations,tough they are not that bloody(wanna see bloody games,check out raven software's games").
If you've played any gta game by now you should be familliar with the open-ended mode.Instead of cops,the city guards will chase and you can get rid of them either by killing them or breaking the line of sight and hiding in a stack of hay,cart of hay,or a...wait a...i don't really know how should i call it,i don't even know how should i describe it.
You won't want to spend too much time in combat because of the dim-witted A.I that will either attack you with all it's forces or they'll queue to hit you.And there won't be any spectacular combos to delight your eyes alike,count the lack of gore and that's what you get,AC combat.It's fun for the first few horus but then it starts to be tedious and repetitive.
But don't worry,you won't be fighting a lot,since there are always roofs to be climbed,cities to explore and lots of side quest that don't necessarily require combat.
The sound is outstanding.Tough,the voices of some characters may sound a bit goofy(especially the hardcore italian speakers) the rest of the people will sound,act really believable.The environmental effects and soundtrack will also pack quite a punch.
Visually speaking,the game raises the bar of realism.No,it's not Crysis but it's close to it due to it's breath-taking facial textures&animations,superb designed cities(vivid alike),and just the way how the society acts,realistic.They will stare and you when you're trying to climb a building,often you'll hear dialogues like this:"Why is he fooling around" or "He might get hurt!".
After you finish the game,there are tiny reasons to replay the game,yeah maybe there are some flags or side events left there to be done but still....plus that there is no multi-player component,so you get the point.
But it's not short,tough it will take about 13-15 hours to finish it and from start to end Assassin's Creed is a unique,stupendous,thrilling ride that as gamespot said it will stay with you long after you finish it.